Why should electronic devices stay out of your bedtime routine?

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

Electronic devices, especially smartphones, have become our partners in life. They’re the first thing we wake up to & the last thing we engage with before bed.

While they obviously have a lot of use in our day to day, over usage of devices does have an adverse impact on our health, as well. More specifically, it affects our sleep. Studies suggest that usage of electronic devices during your bedtime routine has growingly become one of the major factors that affect one’s sleep quality.

To keep it simple, using your gadgets too close to your hours of slumber is considered poor sleep hygiene.(Sleep hygiene refers to good habits which aid in good quality of sleep).

Less sleep = less rest for the mind & body. Just like when your phone is not fully charged, it will shut down after a while. We humans tend to continuously run ourselves on low batteries, leading to decreased functionality, burnout and other disorders in the mind & body.

So, why should you consider omitting electronic devices from your bedtime routine?

• Because good quality sleep is important
  A good night’s sleep helps regulate the release of hormones that control your appetite, metabolism, growth & healing. Sufficient sleep boosts brain function, concentration, focus & productivity. It also reduces your risk for chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes.The required rest maintains your immune system and can improve your overall performance, reaction time and speed, in both physical and mental activities. Infact, sleep can lower the risk of mental health illnesses, too!
• To reduce blue light exposure
  Blue light is emitted by all electronic devices. It can reduce your melatonin levels, which is a hormone responsible for your circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycle). Reduced melatonin can cause difficulty in sleeping, as the blue light stimulates your brain activity, keeping you alert, making it harder for you to sleep.
• To stay away from triggers before getting into bed
  Our devices have access to a large range of information about things in the outside world. Some of this information can act as triggers and cause a series of responses in us (eg. anxiety response). This leads to the activation of your nervous system.
  An activated nervous system doesn’t allow you to fall asleep because your mind believes it needs to do something. Trying to sleep in this phase can be difficult and even if you do, the quality of your sleep will be poor.
  The ideal state for you to get good sleep is a relaxed and calm mind.
• To allow your mind to bring your focus to you
  Well, this is something we should do on a regular basis, whenever possible, not just while getting into bed. We are often so lost in the virtual world, that we don’t realise we’re hardly bringing our mind’s focus on the self, in the present, making it difficult for us to be aware of ourselves. It perpetually leads to a disconnected state of being. Allow yourself to bring your mind back to yourself, think for only you, away from the external influences. Your mind will recognize it’s safety in the moment and ensure well rested sleep.
• To commit both your mind & body to sleep
  When we watch our phones or TVs and fall off to sleep, we are not committing to our sleep. We’re actually doing quite the opposite– disconnecting our mind and body. Your mind interprets this habit– it learns that the last place your mind was, before it got exhausted and passed out, was with the phone or TV. Not in bed with you.
  You might have experienced this in your dreams when scenes or representations from the movie you were watching appear in vague forms.
  So why not invest a little time and effort in rewiring this disconnect, simply by taking a break from the devices?

Finding it difficult to do? Here’s few tips to help make your bedtime routine, electronic device free:

1. Allocate a fixed space for your electronic devices, away from your bed.
2. Do not work from your bed. Your bed is a space of relaxation & sex. Avoid blurring the lines for this in your mind.
3. Design a new bedtime routine which is calming & relaxes you. Be consistent with this new routine.
4. Replace the usage of devices during bedtime with some relaxing activity, like reading a book or breathing techniques.
5. Have a fixed screen off time. Ideally, at least an hour before bedtime. Be strict about this.
6. Use a basic alarm for waking you up.
7. Reward yourself when you are able to get to sleep without using your devices. Set timely reward systems (like for a week, month or year).

Creating healthy boundaries with your electronic devices is imperative, especially for the world we live in today. Think about it, your journey towards wellness and better health can start with making sure you snooze, and snooze well!